Dual doped fluorite oxide enabling enhanced performance for low-temperature ceramic fuel cells

Ceria-based electrolyte materials are of great interest for solid oxide fuel cell applications because they exhibit low ohmic resistance and high ionic conductivity, especially at a low temperature of 550oC. Consequently, we have designed a very interesting electrolyte Al and Nd dual-doped SDC (Sm0.1Ce0.9O2) using the sol–gel technique to function as an electrolyte for LT–CFCs (low-temperature ceramic fuel cells). The AN–SDC (Al0.15N0.15-Sm0.1Ce0.6O2) as an electrolyte shows a maximum power output of 1085 mW/cm2 with a high ionic conductivity of 0.22 S/cm at 550oC. This high performance is mainly because of the co-doping into SDC, which facilitates many oxygen vacancies, enabling faster stabilized ion transportation through the AN–SDC lattice. The low resistance of either the ohmic and grain boundary resistance + the microstructure features of AN–SDC contribute to achieving higher fuel cell performance. In addition, dual doping into SDC might build a synergistic effect, which further improves devices' performance. The ionic conduction mechanism has been explained based on the dual doping of the incorporation of Al and Nd into the SDC. Dual doping is a promising, feasible avenue for designing electrolytes to enhance the performance of LT–CFC devices.